Chart-topping Swedish DJ Avicii dies at 28

“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the loss of Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii. He was found dead in Muscat, Oman, this Friday afternoon local time, 20 April”, says his representative. “The family is devastated and we ask everyone to please respect their need for privacy in this difficult time. No further statements will be given.”

Other artists have paid their respects by posting on social media. Diplo called him “a real groundbreaker and influencer to all your peers” and “your music is gonna live forever” in an instagram post. DJ Calvin Harris tweeted: “Devastating news about Avicii, a beautiful soul, passionate and extremely talented with so much more to do. My heart goes out to his family. God bless you Tim x.” while Deadmau5 tweeted: “nobody can deny what he has accomplished and done for modern dance music and I’m very proud of him.” Zedd also tweeted, “No words can describe the sadness I’m feeling right now, hearing about Avicii passing away.”

In 2014, Avicii’s appendix and gallbladder had been removed. In 2016, he gave up performing live due to health reasons; he had suffered from acute pancreatitis due to excessive drinking.

There was a documentary made about Avicii’s career called ‘True Stories’ chronicling his health struggles and final world tour. Director Levan Tsikurishvili said, “Everybody knows Avicii but very few people know Tim,” “I think this documentary really shows Tim’s struggle and strength of character.”

Avicii was born in Stockholm, and consistently ranked in the top five of Forbes’ list of highest-paid DJs. He was best known for successful songs like Levels and Wake Me Up, both of which made it to No. 1 on the Billboard list of top dance club songs. In 2012, he became the first electronic musician to headline New York’s well-regarded Radio City Music Hall.

In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2017, Avicii talked about his reason to stop touring, mentioning how life on the road and several hospitalizations had begun to harm him. He said, “None of us today can fucking handle our emotions – most of us are running around being reactive.” “That’s why I had to stop touring, because I couldn’t read my emotions the right way. The whole thing was about success for the sake of success. I wasn’t getting any happiness anymore.”